With captain rescued and safe, pirates return to work
President Obama pledged continued action Monday against piracy off the Somali coast.
“I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks,” he said.
But Monday night, another freighter was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, two maritime security contractors told AP:
“They say the M.V. Irene E.M. is the latest target of pirates who appear undeterred by U.S. and French navy attacks that killed seven bandits in the past week to free four hostages. That includes the weekend’s dramatic rescue of the American captain of a U.S. freighter.
The contractors did not know the ship’s owner or where it is licensed. They spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because it is a sensitive security issue.
The Irene is at least the third vessel hijacked in a week. The nighttime attack indicates increased technology acquired by pirates who win multimillion-dollar ransoms.”
It’s a tough problem. In a meeting in Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted the four pirates who attacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama were between 17 and 19 years old.
“Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,” Gates told a group of students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. “Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that.”
So what do you do? As the AP points out:
“Few international allies have the appetite for another land operation in Somalia, where a U.S. military foray in the early 1990s ended in humiliation. And the cost in civilian casualties would likely be extremely high, some warn.
“That would be nuts,” said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism specialist. “These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You’re talking about wiping out villages.”
Writing in the Guardian of London, Simon Wheatcroft has an interesting piece on the limits of overwhelming power in such situations.
“A hundred years ago, any one of half a dozen imperial powers could have conquered Somalia in a matter of weeks with a couple of gunboats and a few battalions.
Today Somalia has been a collapsed state for nearly 20 years, in lawless confusion that no outside power can or will subdue. It harbours bands of men in light craft armed with rifles who can seize 50,000-tonne tankers flying the flags of western states. And there is almost nothing anyone can do, despite Sunday’s escapade.
Since 1993 and the bloody “Black Hawk down” fiasco in Mogadishu, the Americans have steered well clear of Somalia. They could nuke it flat, but that doesn’t quite meet the case. And that episode is instructive. The Americans were horrified by the loss of 18 of their men, but at least 1,000 Somalis were killed at the same time. Likewise, the Americans have been perturbed by the loss of more than 4,000 of their forces in Iraq, as they were dismayed by nearly 60,000 US dead in Vietnam. But those compare with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who may have been killed in the past six years, and 2 million Vietnamese dead in that war.
Nothing is more frightening to us than suicide bombing. It is indeed repugnant, but it also proves what the Roman philosopher Seneca said long ago: “The man who is not afraid to die will always be your master.” That applies, above all, to prosperous, sybaritic, modern western societies, which no longer have any appetite for sacrifice and suffering. Is it any wonder we are mighty but weak at once?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
83 comments Add your comment
Bud Wiser
April 14th, 2009
7:07 am
Iam so glad you returned to the now famous pirate/terrorist line here.
My belief is that we should whack them all out in one fell swoop, and I’ll tell you why.
Some lib whiner was on NBC this morning saying that the pirates provided a ‘viable’ service to various Somalian communities, with the money they extort being used to buy TV’s, cell phones, computers, satellite dishes, you get the picture.
The next thing you know, we will all find ourselves the beneficiary of yet another multimillion dollar gift from some Somali “king”, just as we have been from Nigeria. Arm these people with computers and the whole world will go to hell.
Bud Wiser
April 14th, 2009
7:14 am
Nothing is more frightening to us than suicide bombing. It is indeed repugnant, but it also proves what the Roman philosopher Seneca said long ago: “The man who is not afraid to die will always be your master.” That applies, above all, to prosperous, sybaritic, modern western societies, which no longer have any appetite for sacrifice and suffering. Is it any wonder we are mighty but weak at once?
I expect better from a Brit. That sounds like something rolled right off the desk of the New York Times or San Francisco Chronicle.
Ohhhhh, poor us, we are so strong yet so weak. We must bow like our leader to the thugs of the world and be no longer afraid to dirty our knees. Ohhhhhh, I hope some one will like us if we cry and sob about our strengths and weaknesses simultaneously. Ohhhh.
Excuse me, I think I’m going to be sick. And from a Brit no less. Oh to be European.
I Report/ You Whine
April 14th, 2009
7:17 am
“That would be nuts,” said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism specialist. “These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You’re talking about wiping out villages.”
Rumor has it you can find them in boats every once and a while.
See what I mean about these dimwit liberals, those snipers would never have gotten blowed away if it hadn’t been for the vague order from Obozo and the liberal definition applied by the Navy Seals, bless their hearts.
Set some ambushes using plump Swedish flagged freighters with Korans stacked high on the deck and a battalion of Marines in the cargo hold.
Perch a C130 Spectre Gunship in a freighter rich environment, tell them their targets are the ittle bitty boats with AK47 brimming from it.
Rig some old hulk ship with a couple tons of napalm, have a submarine tow it by some known pirate infested village, when they swim out to it, strike the match on their asses.
You libs aren’t really this dense, are you?
I Report/ You Whine
April 14th, 2009
7:19 am
Ooops-
See what I mean about these dimwit liberals, those pirates would never have gotten blowed away by the snipers if it hadn’t been for the vague order from Obozo and the liberal definition applied by the Navy Seals, bless their hearts.
geez
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
7:22 am
Wow. Pirates practice the trickle down economy technique. I’ll bet it buys them all sorts of good will as well. That’s a clever strategy as long as the people remain in the dark regarding where the money came from. Then again, maybe they don’t care about that. Maybe they’re just happy to have food and other supplies — like that on the Maersk, that was headed their way, for free. Maybe these charities should have their supplies air-dropped all over the countryside from ships that are too far out for the fearless 17 year old pirates to reach. Just sayin’. Maybe the wise thing to do is to try to outsmart the pirates and their backers rather than outgun them. Then again, maybe that’s asking too much.
I Report/ You Whine
April 14th, 2009
7:29 am
Maybe these charities should have their supplies air-dropped all over the countryside from ships that are too far out for the fearless 17 year old pirates to reach. Just sayin’
Yeah, ok, the Berlin airlift or one freighter, duh.
liberals, geez.
~~~~~~
They are good at undermining democracy though-
Ballots were discovered in an election judge’s car and other votes appeared as if by magic across the state. One county discovered 100 new votes for Franken and blamed a clerical error. Another had vote tallies 177 higher than the total recorded on Election Day. Another county reported 133 fewer votes than its voting machines recorded. Almost every time new ballots materialized, or tallies were updated or corrected, Franken benefited.
As Lott noted Nov. 10, almost all of Franken’s new votes came from three out of the state’s 4,130 precincts, and nearly half the new 246 Franken votes came from one heavily Democratic precinct in Two Harbors. Barack Obama won the precinct with 64% of the vote but “[n]one of the other races had any changes in their vote totals in that precinct.”-AmSpec
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
7:43 am
“These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You’re talking about wiping out villages.”
Jay, that’s good-mornin’ porn for about half the conservatives posting here.
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
7:48 am
“Ballots were discovered in an election judge’s car”
That pathetic, elephant-fellating-for-nickels-and-giving-change AmSpec is still pushing that one?
For anyone who still believes this…
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
7:49 am
Cracks of stupidity it is then from the resident conservative/constitutionalist/libertarian/GOPer/Republican/whatever it is – Geez.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
7:51 am
DB,Gwinnettian,
One of AmSpec’s little tools is still pushing that, amongst other tripe.
Susan Myers
April 14th, 2009
7:51 am
Just as we showed the Republicans in 2008 that trickle down economics doesn’t work, the pirates should be shown as well.
ESR
April 14th, 2009
7:56 am
We send a few drones in and wipe out the stick people. So what if they have women and children with them, that’s fewer to deal with tomorrow. The kid will grow up to be a pirate and the woman is a pirate factory. Why are we sending aid there in the first place, do we not have Americans that are in need? I guess a photo helping a poor kid in West Virginia who is hungry and who has both parents out of work isn’t as ‘exotic’ as a photo of us helping people who want to kill us. Typical libs, typical…and common.
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
7:58 am
Just as we showed the Republicans in 2008 that trickle down economics doesn’t work, the pirates should be shown as well.
What’s it going to cost us to teach them this lesson? Are we going to send three Navy vessels every time a cargo ship is boarded?
jt
April 14th, 2009
7:58 am
It might be interesting to note, that the goverment that most had a chance to controll Somalia was the ICU(the Islamic Court Union). Ethiopia, with the backing of America and the CIA promptly squashed this regime in the early 90’s.
Since the collaspe of the Somalian state, the somalian people have seen their standard of living soar.(contrary to what you might hear).
The New York Times seems fascinated with a “stateless” society that is thriving.
There is no way that the World’s goverments will allow a successful “stateless” society to thrive.
You can’t blame a whole country on a few miscreants.
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
8:01 am
Since the collaspe of the Somalian state, the somalian people have seen their standard of living soar.(contrary to what you might hear).
Per whose metrics? Got ye a cite for that?
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
8:03 am
So what if they have women and children with them, that’s fewer to deal with tomorrow.
I’ll remember this next time Waco or Ruby Ridge comes up in conversation ’round here.
Cherokee
April 14th, 2009
8:03 am
“good mornin’ porn”
And right on cue, ESR shows up….
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
8:07 am
You take a bunch of 17 year old kids with a minimum of education, experience and wisdom, with nothing to lose and no place to go, with no vision of a future, and give them power in the form of a weapon and a little training and you’ve got…a fighting force, a military, a killing machine to do one’s bidding. What the heck. Countries do it all the time. Some have even been known to use a draft to make up for a lack of other motivators. Then, you promote a few of them every so often and give them fancy titles and before you know it….
Bud Wiser
April 14th, 2009
8:10 am
With imports so heavily outweighing exports from America, I think that Long Island would make for a very profitable pirate location.
Oh wait, don’t we already have one very successful steal from the haves, give to the have-nots organization, similar in both style and structure, based in Washington DC?
I Report/ You Whine
April 14th, 2009
8:11 am
Hahahaha, in the liberal mad rush to cave in to any grievance mongers that cross their path, so that they are “liked” by the world, they overlooked a few of the minor details, bwahahaha-
Forcing the issue of support for polygamy, polyamory and Sharia will force Americans to face a hard reality. If they do not act now, they will wake up one day to find their own marriage worthless in the eyes of the law. With little or no chance of going back. They will also be living in a society where officials, however unintentionally as in Minnesota, have let loose (among other things) the idea that murdering gays has some kind of official sanction.-AmSpec
And the Islamic Loonies won’t have to search for them, all they have to do is go to the courthouse and find the “marriage” licenses marked F for flaming.
Round them up.
jt
April 14th, 2009
8:12 am
If you believe Wikopedia articles(with foot notes)
Also Somalia has the lowest HIV rate in Africa. The divource rate is nil. Lawyers are non existant. There are no rules or regulations to start a business. The only law is comman sense. American and european entrepaneurs are comman. The telecommunication network is on par with any western country.
We just simply must send a bunch of goverment lawyers over there to civilize these guys.
I Report/ You Whine
April 14th, 2009
8:13 am
Oh, I get it, Bookman doesn’t think legalizing Kiddie Porn is a big issue.
ESR
April 14th, 2009
8:15 am
Taxpayer, are you referring to parts of DeKalb County or Somalia?
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
8:16 am
jt, erm… yes, I believe Wiki articles as far as I can throw them; meaning, they’re a starting point. Have you dug into those footnotes, where the citations are listed, and determined whether what you’ve gleaned has any credibility?
I’d love to know that Somalians’ collective standard of living is somewhat better than has been reported, but it’s kind of hard to do it based on some guy’s post on the Internets, is what I’m saying.
By the way, I imagine the divorce rate is nil in Afghanistan as well.
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
8:18 am
And right on cue, ESR shows up…
I know it’s Wrong with a capital R, but I always read that as “Electro-Shock Retardation.”
Later, all.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
8:25 am
We have a steal from the have-nots, give to the haves structure set up under the dome in Georgia. Just recently, one of their masters instructed them to take payment from the little people in the form of rate hikes in order to help fund nuclear power plants, maybe, at some time in the future. Just recently, they gave a capital gains tax break to the wealthy right here in Georgia while, in the same breath, talked of more cuts in education (I guess that’s because we already are too damn smart for our own good, huh, but that’s another story). Just recently, our Lt. Governor talked of how he might possibly just maybe perhaps need to if things get any worse than double-digit unemployment, etc., have to get his staff of twelve to take off up to as many as possibly five days without pay and he might even take five days off himself. Exactly what does he actually DO for we the people for that $90,000 salary and other perks such as healthcare and retirement benefits paid for by we the people. Damn socialist. That’s right. That’s what he is and all the rest of them too. Draft ‘em all — all of ‘em under the Gold Dome and ship ‘em over to Somalia and let them earn their taxpayer dollars.
Tsali
April 14th, 2009
8:27 am
Bookman said: “That applies, above all, to prosperous, sybaritic, modern western societies, which no longer have any appetite for sacrifice and suffering.”
So what are we going to do about the thugs in urban america where even though opportunity abounds, they decide to deal in drugs, porn and human trafficking because the money is good and the effort is minimal? Are we supposed to let the counter-culture flourish among us?
Andy the Welcher
April 14th, 2009
8:28 am
Why do wingbutternuts hate America so much??? Why???
jt
April 14th, 2009
8:31 am
DB-unlike most people, I don’t beleive everything I read but you can usually discern the bs from opinion. Also interesting is the fact that apparently the world has been using somalia for a toxic waste dumping ground for years. What if somalia tried to get this to stop but was ignored? The pirates never harm hostages. What if this is how they are trying to stop this. Has a pirate ever been allowed to speak?
AmVet
April 14th, 2009
8:48 am
The valorous armchair warriors are showing their inestimable bravery and courage early today!
Hail to the heroes!
Too bad it is, always was and will forever be, be relegated to their Xboxes and blogs…
Off to pay for the corporate welfare.
By the time I get back, I want to see that you neo-conned chest pounders and chickenhawks have taken out some of the skinny pirates for us…
ESR
April 14th, 2009
8:54 am
And DB, as men we know what the D stands for and the B is for breath. Do the math.
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
8:57 am
Jay !:
Two points ….
First, I can’t believe you didn’t use my often submitted quote:
“When civilized man can no longer stand the horror of war and refuses to fight, then he will surely be killed or enslaved by the uncivilized who can.”
Author Unknown
Second, there are ways to bring this almost to a complete halt (nothing is absolute):
a) Arm all crews so they can defend themselves. Open fire on any small boat that comes within 100 yards – period – end of discussion.
b) Set a limit for those boats from the Somali shore and take out any boat that violates that limit. If that upsets the local fisherman – that’s their problem. Let them help stop the pirates and then they can go back to fishing.
c) Use “decoy ships” often. These are ships that look like sitting ducks for pirates but have a squad of Marines just waiting to burn some ammo.
YhgtbK
April 14th, 2009
8:58 am
Ms. Mohammed says Ms. Alpi discovered that much of the waste was being carried from Italy to its former colony aboard fishing vessels belonging to a company called the Somali High Sea Fishing Company.
“This company was owned by the Somali government and it is now in the hands of a manager who is also presently a member of parliament,” she added. “His name is Munye Said Omar. He is presently in Yemen and all the boats are in Yemen harbor.”
Meanwhile, our intrepid Somali pirates know they have Western liberals on their side as long as they can show that the reason they board ships, terrorize people, take crew members hostage, kill with impunity, and barter for ransom is because they are only acting in “self defense” against rancid capitalists and Western governments who allow the practice of dumping and illegal fishing with a wink and a nod. This appeals to many on the left who will now see the problem as a question of “fairness” and will agitate that the president forgo knocking the stuffing out of pirate infrastructure in favor of a “negotiated” solution.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
9:03 am
jt,
There’s quite a bit of stuff on the Internet about toxic wastes and Somalia. Apparently, it goes back quite a ways. Here’s one tidbit that I found.
In the late 1980s, European firms dumped wastes such as uranium, lead, cadmium, mercury and other industrial waste in northern Somalia, but the trend picked up rapidly after the violent ouster of strongman Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, according to United Nations officials.
Of course, waste disposal is not a problem that is limited to this area. It’s a world-wide problem that does not get the attention that it should just about anywhere you go. The US is rife with problems that some would like to keep out of sight and out of mind and apparently they are doing a pretty good job of it in many cases. Just start with some old issues such as PCBs and heavy metals for starters. There’s Monsanto and Anniston, Alabama, GE in North Georgia, coal-fired power plants and their toxic sludge, commercial and residential waste disposal…, some of it literally right under our noses. If people only knew half of what goes on around them and much of it for the sake of getting more of the all mighty buck. The things some people are willing to do to other people for a dollar. They’d probably be better off in some cases if they did shoot them.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
9:05 am
“Doughnut” “Breath”! DB, are you a cop.
Mike
April 14th, 2009
9:05 am
Andy the Welcher wrote:
“Why do wingbutternuts hate America so much??? Why???”
I find it very amusing that so many liberals on blogs are so quick to question the patriotism of any who do not share their narrow views.
Just goes to show that questioning one’s patriotism is a disgusting tactic equally as likely to be used by mindless partisans of either stripe and further evidence that mindless partisans have far more in common than they would ever like to admit. Both flavors of mindless partisan are equally pathetic.
Red Foreman
April 14th, 2009
9:10 am
I belive a good nuke job is in order…that entire portion of the globe needs a good cleaning!
Remember, happiness is a mushroom cloud
Redneck Convert
April 14th, 2009
9:15 am
Well, seems to me these Somalia people got it perfect. No guvmint. No taxes. No welfare. That’s what us Republicans and Libraritarians all want. Everybody in Somalia must be getting rich from all the Free Innerprize, seeing as how there’s no guvmint to get in the way. I bet if you go over there you’ll see everybody with new cars and big screen TVs and big houses. I bet Trickle Down works real good.
But if it ain’t true, I say we just go in and turn the country into a big pile of cinders.
Have a good day everybody.
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
9:31 am
TIP OF THE ICEBERG?
First the “Tea Parties” and now this. The “backlash” has started against a Federal government out of control …………..
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/12227/
Jay
April 14th, 2009
9:45 am
Well, Corporal, all Texas has to do is file suit in federal court laying out their argument for why the 10th Amendment is being violated. We have a conservative-dominated Supreme Court, so presumably their case would get a friendly reception.
And yet, oddly, they don’t.
Instead, they embrace a meaningless resolution while taking every dollar in federal subsidy they can grab. They’re just posturing, just playing to the peanut gallery, and clearly the peanut gallery likes it.
Cherokee
April 14th, 2009
9:45 am
More power to him Corporal, since Texas is one of those states that get more from the Feds than they send in taxes. They, as most of the other red states, need to get off the public dole…
Left Nut
April 14th, 2009
9:50 am
Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes, and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test, with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don’t have to pass a urine test.
So here is my Question:
Shouldn’t one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check, because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Please understand, I ha ve no problem with helping people get back on
their feet.. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their rump — doing drugs, while I work. Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? I guess we could title that program, ‘Urine or You’re Out’.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
9:52 am
Out of Control, Corporal! The greedy and power-hungry amongst us are the ones that are and have been out of control. Many in government are just their prostitutes — bought and paid for to do their bidding. For example,
WASHINGTON (CNS) — After a decade of pressure from faith-based investment coalitions, the General Electric Co. disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it spent nearly $800 million to delay the cleanup of toxic PCB discharges in New York, Massachusetts and Georgia…
I mean, you believe what these people have to say, don’t you. Don’t they look trustworthy and not in this for personal gain. It’s amazing the things that money can buy and that it is used to buy by companies that are even “household names”. Of course, that means about as much as “family values”, now doesn’t it. Just how low will some people go in the name of the company, I mean, the dollar, I mean, the company….
On a side note, I wonder if this sort of fessing up just coincidentally aligns with tort reform from folks that just want to try and help small businesses and others eliminate those huge, wasteful, destructive court settlements. Makes you wonder just who has been hiding in the Bush’s. Some things just smell mighty fishy.
TnGelding
April 14th, 2009
9:55 am
So, it turns out the pirates were nothing but teenagers playing with guns. Seeing his comrades killed should have taught the one that had surrendered his lesson. Set him free. Or allow him to earn citizenship by joining the U.S. Armed Forces.
Surely the world’s navies can provide escort for commercial shipping in that area until the problem can be eliminated. And yes, it’s going to require humanitarian action that tests our courage and resolve.
Night Train
April 14th, 2009
9:57 am
I suspect that Texas will just be the first state to propose something like this. Other states are sure to follow.
Now, this will be some Change we can really Hope for.
The Feds have been overstepping their authority for many many years. It’s time the states start fighting for their rights.
Ray
April 14th, 2009
10:04 am
Oh, but let us not judge the pirates too harshly. They are probably just misunderstood. And because of their age, just teenagers, they are incapable of harming anyone. We should extend Buckwheat’s economic policies to Somalia and supply them with everything they need in order to boost their self-esteem and give them a chance at success without turning a hand on their part. Then when the third or fourth generation figures that this is better than working for a living, we will have established another welfare state, supported by middle and upper class taxpayers with no chance of resolution in our lifetimes. Maybe we can send over a few liberal lawyers to discuss this with their leaders. Maybe they won’t come back.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
10:18 am
Indeed! The Governor of the people of Texas is just trying his best to help out the poor citizens of his great state and save them from the evils of the Fed. Yes sir! That Eeeevil Axis of Fed Agencies including, but not limited to, the EPA, FDA, and the mostest evilest of them all, the IRS. Darned IRS had to go and mess with UBS and others. Where’s a filthy rich billionaire that’s just trying to live off of we the people without paying his fair share supposed to turn to hide his income. And, that danged no good EPA and their relentless attempts to convince the ignorant masses that they cannot just strap their lips to the tailpipe of a Hummer and live happily ever after. And, the FDA. Don’t even get me started on them. Trying to tell me what I can and cannot feed to my very own cattle and that other stuff. Well. The Fed has just gone too far. They done crossed the line that I done drew in this oil-stained sand that we call Texas. Where’s my Texas ranger at when I need him to go whoop some buttocks.
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
10:18 am
back for a break….I realize most rational people have seen this poll, but for Jay’s Tea Tantrum regulars…
“Gallup finds Americans’ views of their federal income taxes about as positive as at any point in the last 60 years.”
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
10:20 am
as men we know what the D stands for and the B is for breath.
ESR @ 8.54, are you saying that the ladies posting here don’t know Dick?
Speaking of body parts, Left Nut gave us:
Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check?
Money? Saved? Probably none; such programs are a pain in the arse to administer effectively and they’re expensive. Also, there’d be legal challenges, as there have been in the past, so you gotta factor that in as well.
Shawny
April 14th, 2009
10:20 am
1 – identify ships used in piracy. Can’t be too hard if we can read a license plate from outer space.
2 – monitor the movements of said ships.
3 – When said ships are isolated and international waters, use cruise missles, torpedoes, etc to destroy them.
This isn’t complicated. Just grow some cajones and open up a can. Stop being a puss.
son of farmer i am
April 14th, 2009
10:23 am
This just in,Barak wants to have a sit down with the somali pirates. Discuss their needs & needs,then apologize for past western aggressions if any. No, my bad thats Iran.
son of farmer i am
April 14th, 2009
10:24 am
“needs & needs”-egads! Wants & Needs
jt
April 14th, 2009
10:27 am
Ray- the world tried this. I sincerely beleive that the freedom loving people of somalia rejected the strings attached.
Left Nut- Try getting a somalian to pee in a cup. Some people have pride. Why don’t you? Your word is not good enough.
jt
April 14th, 2009
10:29 am
America is a nation of urine anylizers.
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
10:32 am
Jay & Taxpayer:
Looks like I hit a nerve. Time will tell my friends, time will tell …………. the backlash is coming. And Jay, it will just give you good threads!
P.S. Regarding my 8:57 ….. add:
d) Travel in daily convoys when possible.
Now, does anyone out there doubt that a) through d) will work?
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
10:34 am
apologize for past western aggressions
Anyone know whence this wingnut meme came?
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
10:35 am
P.S. to Jay:
It may not be in my lifetime but I predict Hawaii will be the first state to leave the Union (peacefully and permanently). It is my understanding that one day each year (I think the anniversary of the date we took the kingdom over) they take down the U.S. flag over the state capitol and fly only the Hawaii flag.
What would the news be if we did that in Georgia one day each year?
jt
April 14th, 2009
10:35 am
I will urinate ON some Hank Paulson-style globa- AIG-like public-coorp-goverment policy, but I will not urinate FOR them.
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
10:37 am
Did anyone notice on the front page of the AJC today (with everything going on in the world) they took up space for an article on the swearing in of two local police dogs? Pulitzer Prize winning material!
Now that’s a NEWSPAPER !
mm
April 14th, 2009
10:39 am
Yes, the red states have been showing off their stupidity for several months now.
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
10:43 am
Whiner, since you seem all weirded out, not to say unhealthily obesessed, about them sextin’ teens–
Whatever the wisdom of teens sending naked pictures to each other, the idea that people are going to prosecuted for child pornography and branded sex offenders for the rest of their lives for this is absurd. It’s doubly absurd because simple nudity isn’t, you know, by any reasonable definition pornography anyway. But even aside from that, this stuff is increasingly going to be part of “normal” teen sexual exploration. And while we do prosecute other “normal” teen behaviors which we have deemed to be illegal – such as drinking – such prosecutions don’t quite carry the weight that “convicted child pornographer” does.
jt
April 14th, 2009
10:54 am
It seems kinda cruel to train and put in harms way man’s best friend.
Your typical dog, even police ones, really don’t care if your are drunk or on drugs. It is also crazy for police to freak out when one of their dogs gets wacked in the line of duty. to equate a dogs life with a human one tells alot about a orginizations overall intelligence.
Copyleft
April 14th, 2009
10:54 am
DB: “Anyone know whence this wingnut meme came?”
It comes from being spanked so badly in reality. Right-wingers are forced to hold debates with caricature-liberals that exist only in their imaginstions, because that’s the only place where they can win an argument.
TUESDAY VANDY GIRL
April 14th, 2009
10:56 am
Jay, yesterday you wondered aloud if , due to my hatred for inferiority and dysfunction, if i hated the modern GOP…the answer is an unqualified YES! I hate the GOP only slightly less than i hate the DNC…Afterall, if the GOP hadn’t failed to put forth a conservative candidate, or at least one that didn’t make a career of trying to “get along” with the other side, we would not have be dealing with obama’s fiscally disasterous meddling in the free market, today.
On to pirates…I can’t believe the most obvious solution is always overlooked! BOUNTY
For the most part, in the 17th and 18th century, it was not a huge armada of a great european power that kept piracy in check..it was PRIVATEERS. Private captains (think..Blackwater..Halliburton) commissioned by the government to go eliminate pirates for a BOUNTY, no questions asked. You could hang the corpses’ off the side of the ship to show how many somali pirates you had killed that week, and the IAPF (international anti-piracy foundation) could wire transfer the money into your account ( from a fund set up thru a modest $1 dollar per metric ton of cargo shipped)..I don’t mind if obama takes credit for my idea…
“Compromise is the filthiest word in the English language”, … Tuesday!
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
10:58 am
Corporal,
A local newspaper that does not dedicate some space to local news just wouldn’t be very local, would it. After all, it’s not like they get a lot of paper sales over in Somalia and other such places. Also, you did not strike a nerve with me. However, I am disappointed with your (and others) apparently cavalier (to put it mildly) attitude with respect to little things such as pollution. Don’t you care about your health or your kid’s health, etc. Or, perhaps you are one of those people that have fallen hook, line and sinker for the lies, deceit, and mis-information that are routinely spoon-fed to the masses by those looking for just a few dollars more. Tobacco companies ring a bell.
TUESDAY VANDY GIRL
April 14th, 2009
11:02 am
Taxpayer says, and I quote, “Or, perhaps you are one of those people that have fallen hook, line and sinker for the lies, deceit, and mis-information that are routinely spoon-fed to the masses by those looking for just a few dollars more”….
That is the best description of the relationship between Liberals and Government I have ever seen..thank you
Shawny
April 14th, 2009
11:07 am
And why do we continue to allow this?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/14/earmarks/index.html
Here are a couple of nuggets from the Citizens Against Govt Waste:
“the list includes nearly $1.8 million for swine odor and manure management research in Iowa.”
and
“At the bottom of the list was Arizona, with less than $12 per resident. Sen. John McCain does not request earmarks for his home state.”
Thank you, Johnny Mac.
Wednesday's Choir Boy
April 14th, 2009
11:07 am
Wow. That Tuesday Vandy Girl is one more bad mama. I bet she rides a Hog to her roller derby appearances. Maybe she’ll meet up with Andie at the tea bagger’s rally on the Capitol steps and show him how it’s done.
Shawny
April 14th, 2009
11:12 am
And liberal hypocrisy that goes with it:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/04/14/public_is_sick_of_wasteful_government_spending_48908.html
On March 28, 2007, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) commented on the Bush administration’s proposed fiscal 2008 budget: “The gross federal debt is now almost $9 trillion, or more than $29,000 per person. That is how much every man, woman and child in America owes to this debt. This is the fiscal mess that we have to clean up.” The debt and the per-person cost are now far greater. Do we hear a peep from Rep. Maloney or the many other Democrats who were critical of the Bush deficits? Nope.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
11:13 am
Well, Vandy Girl, I suppose it is fair to label all government employees, current and retired, and politicians as liberals. After all, they do live off tax dollars. Then again, so do a lot of others including billionaire tax cheats and corporations that pay off politicians for tax favors, etc. And, I bet that you thought that only the poor lived off of we the people. If so, you certainly would be considered, well, improperly informed.
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
11:20 am
1) It’s called the METRO SECTION !!!!!
2) By the way, where did the pollution thing come from? I must have missed that. What was the point/question? I am for conservation, not polluting the environment, etc. but not to absurdity.
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
11:21 am
Sorry: My 11:20 is to Taxpayer ………..
TUESDAY VANDY GIRL
April 14th, 2009
11:23 am
Taxpayer, you misunderstood..I simply said all Liberals buy the government line (as long as it involves increasing said governments control over our lives and especially our MONEY) hook, line..and sinker!
I was thanking you for putting it that way..a compliment
TnGelding
April 14th, 2009
11:24 am
Shawny
April 14th, 2009
11:12 am
Things changed considerably during that time.
That said, I don’t agree with the budget. Hopefully, the FY2011 one will be more palatable.
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
11:28 am
To my liberal friends:
Hey, Jay was asking in this thread what to do about this problem since the pirates are at it again.
You “liberals” were really getting off this weekend over the splattering of teenage brain matter by the SEALs so why aren’t you commenting on my suggestions for stopping this? Not “cool” anymore to kill pirates? Real world?
a) Arm all ship crews so they can defend themselves. Fire warning shots at any small boat at 200 yards. Open fire at 100 yards – period -end of discussion.
b) Set a reasonable limit for those small boats from the Somali shore and take out any boat that violates that limit. If that upsets the local fisherman – that’s their problem. Let them help stop the pirates and then they can go back to fishing wherever they want.
c) Use “decoy ships” often. These are ships that look like sitting ducks for pirates but have a squad of Marines just waiting to burn some ammo.
d) Travel in daily convoys when possible.
I’m waiting? Is this a go or not?
Corporal
April 14th, 2009
11:30 am
To TUESDAY VANDY GIRL:
Welcome aboard. As you will see down the road, I am about as conservative as one can get. May I make a couple of suggestions?
Take the high road
Force the liberals to debate
Don’t get down with them re: namecalling
Ooo Rah!
DB, Gwinnettian
April 14th, 2009
11:31 am
Gosh, Shawny @ 11.07, you left out the state that stands to collect the most per resident!
Golly, I wonder why?
By the way, your Citizens Against Government Waste is, among other things, a wh0re for tobacco.
Taxpayer
April 14th, 2009
11:47 am
I was thanking you for your service as well, Vandy Girl. And, since it was all free, we don’t even have to argue over the price. What a deal.
AmVet
April 14th, 2009
11:52 am
Vandy,
Let me see if I have your “analysis” of this past election correct.
You lament that the GOP failed to run a “true conservative” (whatever the hell that means in this world of made up political titles and slogans).
Yet by my count there were eight of them on that stage. (Well, faux conservatives, but you get my drift). And the aged, loathed (at least by the current RNC Chair – HeadRush and his sidekick Mann Coulter) RINO humiliated each and every one of them. From Kansas flat-earthers to California chickenhawks. From the Large and Lazy to the Mormonesque flip-flopping and well-coiffed. From Yankee fear mongers to Arkansas bible thumpers.
And yet all of these “true conservatives” were dismissed by a nation beyond fed up with deadly Republican bunglers and frauds.
McCain was the ONLY man up there with a shred of honor and integrity. And I was thrilled to see him try to reclaim the hijacked GOP from the BushCo acolytes and sycoophants.
And he got beat handily last November. His bizarre choice of Sarah BarraClueless not helping, as it chased off the independents, moderates, etc..
Had one of those aforementioned neo-cons won the nomination, it would have been a landslide for the Uppity One.
But it doesn’t matter one iota now, does it?
The results of the last two national elections?
Democrats/Independents – 61.
Republiconned – 4.
VERY dark days ahead for the hemorrhaging Old White Guy Party of Dixie…
Dusty
April 14th, 2009
11:57 am
What?? A picture of two police dogs being sworn in? I thought they spent their days blogging. Well, liberals do growl and bark here all day long. Too bad we don’t have blog pictures. Bookman may take a poll to prove that these dogs are totally impartial and prudent in their opinions even if they DID forget to pay their taxes.
Well, let me go hug my fallen pine tree. It is unhappy because it fell on the maple tree. The maple tree is all broken up over this. You just can’t keep happiness in 50 mph wind. It reminds me of our current blowhard leaders in Congress.
Dusty
April 14th, 2009
12:06 pm
AmVet,
You are so cute!! SYCOOPHANTS!! HEMOHAGGING OLD WHITE GUY PARTY OF DIXIE! You just added some new words to the NEW BIGOTRY DICTIONARY.
Congrats! Even the police dogs here don’t like you now. They don’t go for rotten meat.
TUESDAY VANDY GIRL
April 14th, 2009
6:39 pm
I’m a 20 year old white female, and I don’t understand the (ill)logic that pervades this discussion board…because I hate mccain and his befriending of the enemy ( And yes, liberals are the enemy), I should have vote for the enemy instead? Because more than half of americans are horrible people who want to take from others to give to themselves, I should join in and do it too? or at least applaud it as the future? If you ruin free market capitalism here, we will just have to leave and go somewhere else and make it a super power while you become a large welfare nation(tijuana northeast)
Chuck
April 16th, 2009
9:06 am
Give the merchants Guns to defend themsleves at this point. The predetors will back off. This is so stupid to send our merchants into hostile waters without protection!